Talkeetna

August 13 – Homestead History

Another cloudy morning…Argh! I drove Billy 45 minutes south to drop him to meet his fishing guide then turned around and drove back. By the time I got back, Jenny was showered and ready to head out. We had no plans for the day except to check out Talkeetna and do a little shopping and eating.

As soon as we rounded the corner of Main Street, Jenny was in love. There was a cute park, a poke bowl place, an ice cream shop and an adorable coffee shop (named Mimi’s cheese haus). The main street was lined with historic buildings turned into hip gift shops and yummy food joints. There were clearly tourists running about but nothing like we saw in Homer and where Homer felt kitschy, Talkeetna felt revitalized and real.

We enjoyed shopping for some souvenirs and gifts to take home. We especially loved the small outdoor marketplace that was set up where locals were selling their handcrafted wares. I got a lesson on knives, (of all things right?) that was certainly very geared towards Alaskan hunting.

After doing some shopping, Jenny and I grabbed some delicious halibut tacos from a really cute taco truck. The only thing is they were fairly small so we were still hungry and decided to split a fried shrimp poke bowl, also delicious.

I told Jenny about an ATV tour I had read about, that was run by the brother of our host and she said it sounded like fun, so we booked the 4:00 tour. We then walked around the outlying neighborhood checking out some of the historical structures that have been preserved.

I especially loved the one that the guy had died in 1975 and with no heirs the cabin was boarded up. The historical society purchased the building from the town and when they opened it up c.2000- it was like a time capsule- everything still in its place- tins in the cupboard, clothes lying on the bed, etc.

With 45 minutes before our tour started and the skies clearing a bit, I suggested to Jenny we take a quick drive to see if Denali was visible at all, and wouldn’t you know. Jenny had to point its summit out to me because it was hurting up above the clouds but because it is totally snow covered, it blended in perfectly with the clouds. It was super cool to see it that way.

We got to the tour with about 10 minutes to spare when Billy texted saying he was on his way back – about three hours earlier than we had expected him. He caught no trout (he did catch salmon but that wasn’t what he was fishing for) and decided to cut his losses. He said he’d love to join us, if there was room, and in the nick of time he joined us!

The couple leading the tour were a hoot and their German Shepherd, Bosco, was too sweet!

The tour started off driving through the streets of Talkeetna. We then had to go over a bridge that spans the river (the bridge being 38 inches wide, the ATV being 35 inches wide), we were basically bouncing off the sides!

We continued for another 6 or 7 miles until we arrived at the summer home of our tour leaders. Dennis parents arrived here in 1959 with five children. They homesteaded 115 acres, building an 8’x12’ “house” with an upstairs loft that all five children slept in. The original cabin is now in disrepair and he has since built himself a modern log cabin that runs off a generator as it is off the grid. The location is spectacular- in the absolute middle of nowhere, only reached by ATVs in the summer or snow machines (as they call a snowmobile in Alaska) in the winter. So so cool!

All three of us really enjoyed this tour. As Billy put it, “I thought I would enjoy it, but I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.” We appreciated how personal it was and the stories that came with it.

Once back in town, we hustled over to the brewpub to grab dinner. We loved that so many establishments had live music and that there was a band playing at the town park. There is a definite vibe in Talkeetna, one that we all really like.

More scenes from around town: